Legacy
by Lady Nightshade
Summary: Meri Banes considers the legacy that was left behind by her parents and the legacy she is forging with those around her. Takes place after the story Aftermath. Slight mentions of past abuse, murder/suicide


Legacy

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I kinda got the idea for the Mikaela and Meri to be related to a member of The First Seven when I saw it zoom in on the names. The first time I saw it I half expected them to reveal something through that like maybe one of the names to connect one of the main characters to The First Seven. I was rather disappointed when nothing really came of it. Ah well.

Not entirely sure about this story. I might go back later and rewrite it because I don't think I got down everything I wanted to get done.

Meri Banes sighed as she examined herself in the bathroom mirror. She had removed the pendant that hide the hieroglyphs that the allspark had branded onto her skin and now the signs stood out against her pale skin. It was yet another legacy she carried in her DNA. They were nothing more than something else that marked her as different. As if her high IQ and duel colored eyes weren't enough to do that themselves. She looked older then she actually was. At least her eyes held wisdom that hadn't been there before Mission City.

She winced and averted her eyes as she started to dry her hair no longer wanting to look at them. At the knowledge of horror and wisdom burned into her very brain by the war between the Cybertrons and the contact with the Allspark. With another sigh she dropped the damp towel into the hamper and headed to her room. Add in her parental and uncle legacy and she was for many people they would rather be a rabid dog.

Legacy.

She had been thinking about the Legacy of her family, both biological and fated, ever since Mission City. Ever since she saw a photo of her great-great grandfather in the Hoover Dam amongst the rest of The First Seven. She supposed in a way it was rather fitting that she and Mika had been dragged into this mess that he had started. To her protecting the earth was a far better Legacy to uphold then that of her parents.

Her parents had crafted their legacy with her in their fights and blood.

"We aren't our parents." That was what Sam's father had told her a couple nights ago when he and his wife had had her and Mikaela over for dinner. "We may share their DNA but we have our own path to follow. Try to keep that in mind."

She envied Sam. Having parents who didn't argue or at least not often. And who obviously loved each other even after twenty odd years of marriage.

Her parents on the other hand had spent most of their marriage fighting. They had been passionately in love when they were younger. At least that's what her Uncle had told her. And Meri isn't entirely sure she believes that. It's hard to believe it since all she saw of her parents was them fighting, day in and day out. She often times wondered why her parents stayed together so long if they could barely stand each other.

Then one day, just shy of being six years old, her uncle had taken her and Mikaela out to the movies. When he had dropped her off Meri had opened the door to their house and stepped straight into a nightmare. The sound of her father's gun drowned out the sound of her screams as her father shot first her mother and then himself. Their blood splattered across her face and butterfly dress as urine ran down her leg. Before her father had even hit the ground her uncle had barged into the room and swept her up into his arms carrying her out of the room.

They had been at the car by her neighbor, a cop who had just gotten home from his shift when the shocks rang out. The next few hours were filled with questions. Questions she couldn't answer.

Eventually her uncle had been allowed to take her and Mikaela home. And all three of them had slept her uncle's large bed after a bath. This happened for several days because Meri couldn't sleep without nightmares. It had been her old neighbor who had gotten his cousin to provide free counseling to help her work through the issues and nightmares. But as the years went on the nightmares became less and less frequent. Nor did they last so long. They still poped up from time to time when her day had been stressful and sleep had been elusive the night before over the years.

Despite that though the legacy of that night is burned into her very core. And she can't escape it.

But lately the nightmares of the night her parents died had been chased away by new ones. Darker ones. Sometimes they had been of the battle of Mission City other times they had been of her with a collar around her neck and being the fleshling of one of the Decepticons. But then again so did Mikaela and Sam. They whispered about it at lunch and during free periods or in the halls on their way to class. All three of them now had seen the horrors of war before they had even graduated high school. Often times when she or Mikaela would have nightmares they would crawl into the bed of their cousin to ease the terrors away.

It helped some.

Still.

The night her parents' died still pops up often in the back of her mind. The sound of a gun going off and screams with splatters of blood all over the fucking place whenever she gets interested in someone. So far no one had really shown an interest in her. Which considering the state of things suited her just fine. For the most part. She was terrified the same thing that happened to her parents would happen to her. Still though she wanted to fall in love at least once.

Maybe experience something along the lines of Mikaela's or Sam's parents. A relationship where disagreements are discussed not argued. And little things are for the most part ignored not exaggerated to the point of nearly causing an all out war in the house.

If she manages to settle down and have children she doesn't want to leave them a legacy infested with blood and hate. She wants to leave her children and grandchildren with a legacy of love, heroes and hope. She wants to give them a legacy of family and friends. Of how no matter what someone will get your back and you had better get theirs. That family isn't based solely in ties of marriage and blood. It's based in sweat, tears, and bounds that can go beyond such basic familial bonds. They were so much more and they could help us craft a new legacy for the family. If not they could help us craft one for yourself.

No sacrifice. No victory.

It's the motto of Sam's family and its one she burns into her mind, heart, and soul.

"We aren't our parents. We may share their DNA but we have our own path to follow. Try to keep that in mind."

And she does.


End file.
